Thread storead advancing device



Feb. 17, 1953 G. M. ALLEN 2,628,406

THREAD STORAGE-THREAD ADVANCING DEVICE Filed Aug. 9, 1949 INVENTOR.GEORGE M. ALLEN ATTORNEY- be either single end or double end supportedof any of the types which are well known in the art such as that shownin the patent to Stanley et al. 2,403,031, July 2, 1946.

The thread supporting bars of this invention are hollow, rigid,longitudinally extending members of glass, noncorrosive, fused ceramicmaterial or the like that is homogeneous throughout. The cross sectionof the bar is substantially uniform throughout its length. The barcomprises a hard smooth continuous unbroken top portion having one ormore thread contacting portions and spaced therefrom a base portion bywhich the bar may be secured in position in the cage-like member. Thetop'portion and the base portion are connected together by spaced apartside portions that are integral with the top and base portions. The barsare preferably made from preformed, hard smooth surfaced, uniform,hollow tubing of glass or the like that is homogeneous throughout. Thebars may be formed by heating the tubing and expanding it against a moldor by heating the tubing and shrinking it on a mandrel of the desiredcross section: The resulting bar is-rigid and has a hard smoothcontinuous unbroken outer surface that is noncorrosive and resistant toabrasion.

The hollow bar may be reinforced from the inside by a layer of celluloseacetate, vinyl resin or the like plastic, adhered to the inner wall ofthe bar. Natural fibers or-synthetic fibers such as rayon, glass, or thelike, or fine wire may be incorporated in the plastic to furtherreinforce the glass. Additional reinforcing'may be provided such as atubing or solid rod positioned within the bar and extendingsubstantially the length of the bar. The cross section of the outerperiphery of the reinforcing maybe substantially that of the innerperiphery-of the bar to closely fit therewith. The reinforcing may befixed to the interior of the bar by plastic or other adhesive. A pigmentmay be added tothe plastic, such as black, or other dark color or white,so that the threads supported by the bar may be readily seen. I 7 7 Eachbar is attached to parts of the cage-like member by longitudinallyextending spacedanchoring blocks or by a single anchoring blockpositioned in the bar against the base portion of the bar. The baseportion of the bar is secured to parts in the cage-like member by screwsthat extend through the base portion and into the blocks or by screwsthat extend into the ends of blocks positioned adjacent the'ends of thebar. With this attaching arrangement only the base portion of the bar ispressed against the supporting means in the cage-like member. The barsbeing hollow are relatively light in weight, but are sufficiently rigiddue to their cross section that they are practically free fromdistortion during operation. 7

Thread storage-thread advancing devices embodying the present inventionmay be used in handling thread, yarn, ribbon -bands, tow and the like,and wherever the term thread'is used herein before or hereinafter it isintehdedto be inclusive.

Referring to Figures land of the drawing, I

reference character 2 indicates generally a form of thread supportingbar embodying this invention. The thread supporting bar is a hollow,rigid, longitudinally extending member of glass, noncorrosive fusedceramic ware, or the like that is homogeneous throughout with acontinuous smooth, hard outer surface and a cross section that isuniform. The perpendicular distance between the bottom of the baseportion and the thread contacting surfaces of the top portion indicatedby reference character A in Figure 2 is practically constant throughoutthe length of the bar. The bar comprises a smooth, continuous unbrokentop portion 3 having thread contacting portions 4 and spaced therefrom abase portion 5 by which the bar may be secured in position in thecage-like member. The top portion and the base portion are connectedtogether by flat, spaced apart side portions 1 and 8 that are integralwith the top and base portions. In order to further reinforce the threadsupporting bar for safety purposes, a rigid metal tube or rod, or alayer of tough elastic plastic 9 is firmly anchored to the interiorsurfaces of the bar by an adhesive or the like. The plastic layer may beof cellulose acetate, vinyl resin or the like. The plastic layer may bepreformed and adhered to the inner. surface of the bar by cement or bychemical adhesive properties of the plastic, or the plastic eithermolten or in a solvent may be uniformly applied to the inner surfaces ofthe bar and dried or otherwise allowed to solidify. The bar may befurther reinforced by the addi tion of natural or artificial fibers orfilaments or fine wire to the plastic. In the event the bar is crackedor broken during operation, the reinforcing adhering to the barthroughout its interior will prevent pieces of the bar from being thrownout. In order to make the portions of the thread supported on the barclearly visible, pigment, such as carbon black, titanium dioxide, orother pigment of a color contrastin to the color of the thread to besupported may be added to the plastic or adhesive. The reinforcing beingapplied to the interior of the bar does not contact the thread and isnot subject to wear or corrosion. Also, the reinforcing does notinterfere with the mounting means for the bar. The bars are mounted andfixed in position on supporting members of the cage-like members of thedevice by means of the base potrions.

In Figure 4 of the drawing is shown a cage-like member of a threadstorage-thread advancing device embodying the invention. Thelongitudinally spaced circular disk-like supporting members it and I lare keyed to the rotatable shaft l2 that is mounted in suitablesupporting bearings that are not shown. The disk-like members are formedat their peripheries with axially extending generally circular flangesI3 and [4. The bar members are circularly spaced apart and are supportedon the flange members with the lower surface of the bottom portion ofthe bars in engagement with the outer periphery of the flanges. Theportions of the flanges in engagementwith the lower surface of the barsare flattened to engage the entirewidth of the bars throughout thelength of the flange members. Anchoring blocks I5 of durable plastic,metal or the like that closely conform to the inner cross section of thebars are fitted into the bars in regions adjacent the flanges. Bolts l5thatpass through aligned holes in the bottom portions of the bars andthe flange members are screwed into tapped holes in the blocks firmlyanchor the bars to'the flange members. With this arrangement the topportions of the bars are continuous and are unbroken by any drilledholes or other means for securing the bars to supporting means whichwould weaken the bars and interfere with the thread supported on thebar. V V

In Figure 5 of the drawinga portion of a section of a cage-like memberof a thread storage-thread advancing device is shown having mountingmeans for the thread supporting bars that embody another form of theinvention. Reference character 2 indicates the thread supporting barwhich is of the same type as that shown in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive. Thecage-like member comprises a plurality of the thread supporting barsthat are circularly spaced and are fixed adjacent each end to thecircular disk like members I! are keyed to the shaft l8. The shaft isrotatably supported in suitable bearings that are not shown. Anchoringblocks I9 of durable plastic, metal or the like that closely conform tothe inner cross section of the bars are fitted into the ends of thebars. The bars are clamped to the periphery of the disk-like membersthrough the anchoring blocks by means of the L-shaped brackets 20. Thebrackets are bolted to the disk-like members adjacent the peripheriesthereof and to the an choring blocks by bolts 2! and 22. The bars aresupported through the base portions of the bars which are clampedagainst the peripheries of the disk members and the inner surfaces 23 ofthe laterally extending portion of the brackets. With this arrangementno holes need be bored in any portion of the bar members so that allouter portions of the bar have a continuous unbroken surface throughout.

If desired, such as in a single end supported thread storage-threadadvancing device, the bars may be supported in the cage-like member atonly one end to a disk-like member positioned adjacent that end.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that changes and variations may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A thread supporting bar for a thread storage-thread advancing devicecomprising a hollow longitudinal extending member of glass having asmooth continuous unbroken top portion provided with a thread contactingportion thereon, a base portion spaced from the top portion by which thebar may be supported, spaced apart side portions connecting the topportion and the base portion that are integral with the top and baseportions, and a reinforcing layer of tough elastic plastic materialadhered to the inner surfaces of the top, bottom, and side portions ofthe bar said plastic material having reinforcing fibers therein.

2. A thread storage-thread advancing device comprising a hollowlongitudinally extending thread supporting bar of glass having a smoothcontinuous unbroken top portion provided with a thread contactingportion thereon, a base portion spaced from the top portion, and spacedapart side portions connecting the top portion and the base portion thatare integral with the top and base portions, a supporting member, meansfor mounting the bar in the device on the supporting member comprisingan anchoring member extending within the bar and in engagement with thebase portion, and means for securing the anchoring member to thesupporting member with the base portion of the bar clamped between theanchoring member and the supporting member.

3. A thread storage-thread advancing device comprising a hollowlongitudinally extending thread supporting bar of glass having a smoothcontinuous unbroken top portion provided with a thread contactingportion thereon, a base portion spaced from the top portion, and spacedapart side portions connecting the top portion and the base portion thatare integral with the top and base portions, a supporting member, meansfor mounting the bar in the device on the supporting member comprisingan anchoring member extending within the bar and in engagement with thebase portion, and means extending through the base portion of the barfor securing the anchoring member to the supporting member with the baseportion of the bar clamped between the anchoring member and thesupporting member.

4. A thread storage-thread advancing device comprising a hollowlongitudinally extending thread supporting bar of glass having a smoothcontinuous unbroken top portion provided with a thread contactingportion thereon, a base portion spaced from the top portion and spacedapart side portions connecting the top portion and the base portionsthat are integral with the top and base portions, a supporting member,means for mounting the bar in the device on the supporting membercomprising an anchoring member extending within the bar and inengagement with the base portion and means for securing the anchoringmember to the supporting member with the base portion of the bar clampedbetween the anchoring member and the supporting member comprising abracket member having a portion secured to the supporting member and anoffset portion positioned at the end of the bar and secured to theanchoring member.

GEORGE M. ALLEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,983,221 Furness Dec. 4, 19342,056,197 Knebusch Oct. 6, 1936 2,380,526 Hoagland July 31, 19452,429,584 Stone Oct. 21, 1947 2,475,483 Dasher July 5, 1949

